Bangladesh in turmoil after 1971 Independence

Facing the disastrous aftermath of the 1970 Bhola Cyclone, the 1971 Muktijuddho, and then the 1974 famine where over 1.5 million people were killed, Prime Minister Sheikh Mujib set about restoring public order by discharging more power and control over to himself.

The Jathir Pitha (Father of the Nation) had a demi-god status during the 1960s and early 1970s. He was able to rouse mass sentiment for a nationalist revolution. However, rebuilding a war-torn nation in the aftermath of continuous natural disasters would prove a more challenging task.

Matters were compounded by internal conflict within the problem-ridden new state. If 1973 was the year of violence, 1974 was the year of famine. As thousands of people died, the prime minister's party, the Awami League, disintegrated into warring factions. To impose order, Sheikh Mujib took some drastic decision like creating the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini.